MHA Statement on Racism

The Mormon History Association (MHA) condemns the recent killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the longstanding and ongoing racism and brutality against people of color and Indigenous Peoples throughout the world. MHA acknowledges that racism has been a part of the Mormon past as well as its present. As a community of historians, we believe that studying the racism interwoven in various Mormon histories creates better-informed members of MHA and of society in general, people who are capable of responding with empathy to racial injustice because they recognize its historical consequences. We condemn racism and white supremacy in all of its manifestations. We believe that learning from the past—its triumphs and its tragedies, its successes and failures—can lead to greater understanding in the present and can help to shape a better future without bigotry.

The Mormon History Association Board, June 2020

Also, we join with the American Historical Association’s statement found here.